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I was at a party recently where a friend of the host politely asked me to tell him about next year’s NYFOS concerts. I am not the most comfortable self-promoter, but I took a deep breath and launched into a quick overview of our three subscription concerts. “We’re...
Last summer, it was Rachmaninoff. This summer, Tchaikovsky. I am listening to every song he ever wrote, in preparation for a concert in New York on January 24 (with a Washington, DC preview on the 21st). Going through scads of art songs is a daunting process. My brain...
For this week’s Song of the Day, I thought I’d dig into some of the music I’m studying this summer as I prepare for next year’s NYFOS concerts. I have never begun work on the upcoming season so early. But in spite of my best efforts the 2016-17 schedule has a couple...
Steven Blier on the NYFOS@Caramoor Residency: March 14 I'm happy to report that the show went beautifully yesterday. I quarantined myself for about 70 minutes beforehand (a few intruders tiptoed around me) and had a serious talk with my hands. They had a few things to...
Steven Blier on the NYFOS@Caramoor Residency: Day 6, March 12 We’re ready. Well anyway, the cast is. Dress rehearsal went quite beautifully. We have the luxury of actual lighting (a rarity in my concerts, something I don’t get at Juilliard or in San Francisco), and...
Steven Blier on the NYFOS@Caramoor Residency: Day 5, March 11 Today was finish-the-staging day; work-with-the-props day; make-the-choice-about-who-is-playing-which-song day; work-with-the-lighting guy day; and (most of all) do-our-first-run-through day. In other...